West Virginia Women Are Occupying Joe Manchin's Office, Demanding a 'No' Vote on Brett Kavanaugh

By Ashley Reese  |  October 1, 2018 | 9:15pm
NewsPolitics

A group of women are occupying the campaign office of West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, demanding the senator vote against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Members of Vote with West Virginia Women are livestreaming their protest and sharing their experiences of sexual violence as well as the stories other women have submitted to them:


The police have reportedly been called, but the protesters say they don’t plan on leaving until Manchin is a “no” vote on Kavanaugh. Later, the same staff member who had said the police were coming invited the women to continue to “stay and share your stories.”

Manchin, a Democrat in a very red state, is currently undecided as to whether or not he’ll vote to confirm Kavanaugh, who has been accused of sexual assault and misconduct by multiple women. But as one woman said on the livestream, “Make a choice, Joe.”

Vote with West Virginia Women have also started a GoFundMe campaign that will either support a local counseling organization or try to fund a candidate to kick him out of office the next chance they get:

If Senator Manchin commits to voting no on the Kavanaugh nomination, they will donate funds to REACH, a West Virginia organization that provides free counseling services to victims of sexual assault and abuse. If Senator Manchin votes yes on the Kavanaugh nomination, these women will use the funds to recruit, train, and support pro-women candidates in West Virginia who they say “believe the stories of survivors” – including a future primary challenger to Senator Manchin, should he run again after this 2018.

Manchin was one of three Democrats to vote for Trump’s first nominee to the high court, Neil Gorsuch.

This is a developing story.

 
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